Case Study | 31 December 2025
How a Global Retail Chain Regained Market Share by Overhauling Its Supply Chain Digitization
Posted by : Akshay Pardeshi
A well-known international retail chain, once praised for its vast product range and competitive prices, saw a fall in sales and customer satisfaction due to an outdated supply chain system. Despite its strong brand recognition, the company struggled to move toward a fully digital inventory and logistics network, resulting in frequent stockouts, delivery delays, and rising costs. To reverse these setbacks and recover its market position, the company worked with Research Nester to implement a modern supply chain strategy tailored to its operations.
An overview:
- The company has one of the largest retail chains in North America and Europe, with more than 2,500 physical stores and an increasing e-commerce presence.
- Its annual revenue reached the top level at USD 8.7 billion in 2018, but growth slowed as competitors adopted advanced digital supply chain solutions.
- Customer complaints about unavailable products and late deliveries increased by 34% between 2019 and 2021.
- The lack of real-time inventory tracking and siloed procurement systems caused inefficiencies across regional warehouses.
- The pandemic showed critical weaknesses in its logistics network, resulting in further operational stress.
- An internal review analysis pointed out that without immediate upgradation of its supply chain, the brand’s competitive edge would diminish.
- Unable to secure results with in-house initiatives, the company consulted Research Nester to form a comprehensive digitization roadmap.
The Story
Established in the early 1990s, the retail chain started as a regional discount store before expanding globally over the next two decades. By providing a huge range of consumer goods, from electronics to apparel at competitive prices, it built a strong customer base and became a reputable name.
However, as the retail industry went through a digital transformation, the company lacked in upgrading its supply chain technology. While competitors invested in AI-driven inventory management and automated warehousing, the firm continued to depend on outdated ERP systems and manual data entry for stock tracking. The consequences were severe:
- Regular Inventory Shortages: Popular products would get out of stock in some regions while being unsold in others due to poor inventory visibility.
- Slow Replenishment Cycles: The average restock time is stressed to 14–21 days, compared to 5–7 days for competitors.
- Rising Logistics Costs: Inefficient routing and disrupted vendor coordination led to higher fuel and labor expenses.
- Lost E-Commerce Growth: The inability to provide proper delivery timelines pushed online customers to competitor platforms.
The pandemic further intensified these inefficiencies. Sudden spikes in demand for household essentials caused supply challenges, while regional lockdowns disturbed distribution channels. By early 2021, the company had suffered losses of more than 12% market share in key regions, and annual revenue had fallen by USD 800 million compared to pre-pandemic times.
Recognizing the urgent need, the executive team turned to Research Nester to perform a full-scale operational assessment and navigate the company through a digital transformation of its supply chain.
Our Solution:
Research Nester began with a thorough diagnostic analysis of the retail chain’s existing supply chain infrastructure. This included mapping the whole procurement-to-delivery cycle, comparing performance metrics with industry leaders, and identifying critical technology gaps in automating warehouses, real-time tracking, and vendor management systems. The following strategic actions were recommended and implemented by RNPL:
1. Real-Time Inventory Visibility
- Used an AI-powered inventory management platform integrated with POS systems across all stores and the e-commerce portal.
- Enabled predictive demand forecasting on the basis of seasonality, regional trends, and promotional activities.
2. Warehouse Automation
- Launched robotic picking and packing systems in the main distribution centers.
- Reduced manual handling issues and accelerated order fulfillment cycles.
3. Vendor Collaboration Platform
- Established a cloud-based supplier portal allowing real-time communication, order tracking, and compliance monitoring.
- Strengthened the supply acquisition process by standardizing contracts and automating purchase orders.
4. Last-Mile Delivery Optimization
- Implemented dynamic route planning algorithms to decrease delivery times and fuel consumption.
- Collaborated with local delivery startups to improve flexibility during peak demand periods.
5. Data-Driven Decision Making
- Integrated business intelligence models for executives to oversee KPIs such as stock turnover rates, order accuracy, and supplier performance in real time.
- Trained staff to interpret data and act on data insights rapidly.
6. Workforce Alignment and Training
- Conducted company-wide training workshops to familiarize staff with the new digital working processes.
- Provided specialized training for warehouse and logistics teams to operate advanced tools.
- By taking up a phase-wise implementation approach, the change was rolled out across high-priority regions first, before expanding globally.
Results
The impact of the supply chain digitization strategy was highly notable and measurable:
- Inventory accuracy increased from 74% to 96% within the first year.
- Stockout cases were cut by 41%, leading to higher customer satisfaction scores.
- Average delivery time for e-commerce orders was lowered from 7.8 days to 3.2 days.
- Logistics costs fell by 18%, saving the company an estimated USD 120 million annually.
- Online sales revenue soared by 27% year-over-year, owing to better product availability and trusted delivery schedules.
- Market share in the top 5 competitive regions grew by 8% within 18 months.
By March 2023, annual revenue was back to USD 8.5 billion, close to its pre-decline peak. Most importantly, the company had built a modern, scalable supply chain infrastructure capable of responding to market changes quickly.
Copyright @ 2026 Research Nester. All Rights Reserved.
